Wow! I didn't realize it was that simple. Just ban bad stuff. I'm on board, I like it! No, seriously, I like it. We need to get a movement going.

The reason that AI cannot be stopped is as simple as it is terrifying. The possibility that an advanced AI could help a country develop an unbeatable weapon, or an unbeatable defense, propels the major governments of the world to develop AI at breakneck speed. Like the atomic bomb, whoever gets it first gets an incredible leg up on the rest of the world. This means that the leaders in China, Russia and the US, to name a few, just cannot let any of those others "get there first". So this means that all available resources will go full tilt in to AI, and the chips will fall where they may. The warnings that AI could be the "great filter" that always take out advanced civilizations, is steamrolled by the international competition. So all I can say is, hang on, it is going to be one heck of a ride.

Gaming and porn have always been on the bleeding edge of technology, pushing the limits. Be a shame to turn off one of those spigots.

I worked in a Call Center in the early 2000's, and while I was a bit older and not included, I remember well that all my younger compatriots thrilled for weekends when the entire office would cram into someone's house for a 2-1/2 day bash LAN party. They had really good times, and I wished I was younger and more into it myself.

I can ask Gemini a question, and the answers are of the current time. Whenever I ask ChatGPT, is warns that it's data is only current up until 2 years ago. That renders ChatGPT pretty irrelevant to anything going on in the current world. For example, I just asked ChatGPT a question, and it warned its last update was January, 2022! Really!

I tested copilot by asking it to show me some pictures of women with small breasts. I read somewhere that AI's refuse to do that :). Anyways, I got a very mixed bag. It said sorry, it couldn't do that. Then it proceeded to give me a nice panel of pictures of women with small breasts (all safe for work). Then it said I could ask better questions. Very confused interface :). Anyways, after that fairly useless interchange, I turned copilot off, and am happily do well without it.

My niece tells the story that she was a normal "Santa Claus" believer, when she got a dictionary for Christmas when she was 10 years old. She looked up Santa Claus. Then she looked up "myth". Yikes! Then she looked up Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny! Her whole childhood fantasy life disappeared with a resounding crash. She laughs about it now (dozens of years later) but said it was crushing at the time :).

I think the broad public who benefits should be the ones taxed for viewing. To tax people for something they have decided to no longer watch seems counter intuitive. I think taxes should be borne by those who benefit from the service provided. This seems like it is taxing those who elect not to watch, for the benefit of those who do elect to watch. Upside down.

Paint.net is free from it's main site, but costs $7.99 from the "Microsoft Store". Same idea.

Got a Commodore 64, discovered pirating, and had dozens of games on disk. One of them was a drawing utility named "Logo". You used commands like "Turtle Up" and "Down 4" and "Turtle Down" and "Right 7". Turtle up was "Pen Up", etc. Then at my work, I had a chance to write a program using HP Graphics Language. Guess what? Same syntax as Logo, but with Pen UP and Pen Down instead of Turtle Up and Turtle Down. So I was right at home. The main office secretaries spent 3 hours a week preparing a weekly organization chart for the 150 people in our organization in the in plant print shop at Boeing, back in the 1980's. So on my own time, I wrote an HP Graphics Language program that would create an organization chart in 15 minutes, from the start of information input, to the output of the finished chart, on the HP plotter. It worked so well that management promoted me into the office and put me in charge of the new IBM PC's that were starting to come in. Within a year, I was in charge of a mini computer with 80 terminals. And that was the beginning of a long computer professional career. All thanks to a year cutting my teeth on the Commodore 64. I loved that computer :):).

As long as the two air frame manufacturers in the world are Boeing and Airbus, I cannot conceive the airline industry finding it acceptable to get down to one monopolistic company. For that reason, I think airlines and governments will do what is necessary to ensure there are at least two air frame manufacturers. Now, whether in the long run, Boeing will be one of them, is an open question. I agree, the current management needs to be purged, and engineers need to be put back in charge. To look at how successful an engineer-run company can be, one need look no further than SpaceX. Elon Musk is an engineer. Boeing needs to get back to its roots. And I think a great move would be to restore the company headquarters to Seattle. I worked for Boeing for 25 years in its golden years, prior to the McDonnell-Douglas merger. Good luck Boeing!

Elon Musk's Starlink is already being deployed. From Rich Smith on "The Motley Fool":

"Over time, SpaceX intends to launch at least 12,000 -- and possibly as many as 42,000 -- "Starlink" internet satellites. Granted, this is a long-term, stretch goal, and it will take years to orbit all of the (tens of) thousands of satellites envisioned. But Elon Musk says Starlink will be able to begin delivering at least "moderate" internet coverage to many locations on Earth once SpaceX has gotten 800 satellites into orbit."

At current rates, the article estimates the deployment will reach 800 satellites by the end of June 2020, and 1,500 by the end of 2020. I don't know if the intense high speed high volume needs of business can be eventually accommodated by these satellites at a manageable cost. But maybe they won't need to fix that cable??

Your explanation is precisely why Corporations should not be deemed "citizens" of the US (Supreme Court, are you listening!). True Citizens essentially do care!

Well, I am using Google Fi (with my excellent Google Pixel 3aXL). It uses an esim that is simply valid anywhere in the world. Period. So anything less is forced on you by your carrier.